entiendo

The customer wanted the snaps. I don't like them at all. I tried to talk her out of them. At first she wanted me to attach the snap directly to the reins. I couldn't do it. Beautiful kangaroo reins with scissor snaps. LOL No way. We compromised by adding the snaps to the rein connectors. I do like rein connectors though, I wouldn't want latigo myself.

That's a 4 plait bridle, about a half a hide, give or take depending how fancy. 8 plait bridle is about a hide, again, depending on the size of the hide and how fancy the bridle. Reins are about a hide too. Those have a 4 plait kangaroo core then there are buttons under some of the buttons you see, so there is more leather there than it appears, and the strings for the buttons add up. I'll post a couple more photos.

I think you need to roll your plaiting more. Do you wash your piece? Do you use saddle soap to grease the strings? If you washed and then rolled the plaiting between 2 boards really well you could hide that the string isn't split or beveled a little I'd also shape the terminal knot (the knot under your herringbone) before you do the herringbone knot, then roll and shape the herringbone, that will give your piece a smoother look and a more rounded end button.

I didn't think I'd ever finish this set. And I didn't cut off the crooked button.

Ah, thank you RC Saddles, that's so nice. I'm striving for the kind of work that KAW does, but with roo. I also wanted to see if anyone noticed one of the buttons had a twist. LOL cause it does, just a little. I'm not sure if I should redo the button or not. Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Here's my latest project I've been working on, they still aren't quite done. 8 plait reins, 9', black and whiskey, with a braided kangaroo core.

Sweet!!!!

No, I've never tried that Bevan...Thanks!!! how cool!!! I can't wait to play around with that one. How thick is the 4mm piece of roo?

I think I pull more sideways. I swear it was the thickness of the hide though, could be wrong. Perhaps seeing the core is inaccurate; with the pieces from that hide I couldn't see the chore as much as the the plaiting separated on the turns. The core was there though, it didn't flow an nice as some of the other hides.

I know it has been a long time!! A square circle...that's funny. Kind of true though. I've had pretty good luck rolling it round without a core. Some of my customers like a smaller bracelet but don't want a 4 plait. I have no idea if it goes "round square" over time though as I haven't made one for myself. It still has a very nice look even if it's a little square. I found the thicker string will sometimes show the core on a turn back. I had a hide that was pretty weak so I left it pretty thick and had a heck of a time with it. I rolled and rolled and rolled..I guess you can't roll it thinner though. I guess that's why we use kangaroo instead of cow hide.

I braided a few years without splitting my string so I'm sure you will be fine. I've just seen a rather large improvement in the smoothness my braiding once I started splitting my string. If you can get a hide that is between .08-.1mm that would be great. The bevel is important too. It's the little things that set your braiding apart from others. I just started braiding my own cores. I like it a lot, worth the time once you have a little speed. I use the outside of the hide for the core string. I still have plenty of nylon core though, just in case. I actually like the softness of the nylon core, reminds me of the kangaroo. Defiantly 8 plait! 4 plait is to petite for my taste. 6 plait is OK, but 8 is best. You can do 8 plait without a core. You can roll it round but it will have a smaller diameter than an 8 plait with a core. You won't have to worry about the core showing through though.

I either use a nylon core (3/16 for 1/8" string) or a braided 4 plait with 1/8" string. I highly recommend using 3/32 for a headstall. Much finer work. The same with your buttons 3/32". Keep the plaiting nice and tight and split your string to just under .1 mm and it should loop without being able to see the core.

Wow...nice! I've really wanted to add some flat pieces to my headstall but I don't know anything about cowhide. Did you have to do any sewing? and what thickness did you use?

Thanks everyone. It's the kangaroo, if you love it, it makes you look good. Aggie...It's just one of those things I messed with for a time and figured what worked best for me.

Gosh, I don't know. I just with the technique until it seemed right. Bruce Grant's book shows how to do it but I changed it a little. I can tell you that I connect the ending to the beginning and I go under 3.

Hi all, show off time. The pictures aren't as good as they should be. One of these days I'll get the hang of that.

Use kangaroo so you pull out your string and start over, and over and over and over.....which I've done many, many times. I've got it pretty good now, I don't even have to use a different color most the time. I love the look of the finished product.

beautiful!! Looks like a clinton anderson whip to me too. Hopefully it's not actually being used on a horse. LOL...

Oh, the life and frustration of a braider.....I've done something similar many, many times!

I would add more interweaves. Then you won't have any trouble where it's already tight.

Now you need to get a Canada order together. There has to be other braiders. Well I received my hides from Hardtke, they are lovely! I 'd never had a drum stuff natural, I can't wait to cut it up. I received my Australian(I know they are all Australian) hides as well and they are equally as lovely, but a bit larger. Thank you for this thread, I can't believe how much money I'm saving on the common colors.

Awe, I'm sorry, what a bummer, for lack of anything more intelligent to say. Fish and game inspecting kangaroo...geez, now I've heard everything. I guess you have to pay our national dept down too. Is that $60 fee just once, so you can order multiple hides from them? It would seem buying from the source is cheaper, but I guess that's not always true.

Those sound like sweet reins.

Yuck, that brings the price of the hides way up. Wonder if there is a way around that. I can't wait to see what we all do with all these hides though.

I'm thinking I'm going to make the romel rein plunge very soon, and of course I would need a fancy popper!